Dan Liedl
Dan Liedl is a second-year doctoral student. He received his BS degree in Sociology with a minor in Psychology from West Liberty University. He also earned his MS degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from West Virginia University. Currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Sociology at West Virginia University.
Dan is a nontraditional student, working 12 years as an Air Traffic Control Specialist in Atlantic City NJ, Wheeling WV, and Pittsburgh PA, for the Federal Aviation Administration, before earning his BS and MS degrees. He then on to work 8 years as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in Washington PA. He was a nationally Certified Rehabilitation Counselor and Licensed Professional Counselor in WV and PA.
Along the way he served as the President of the West Virginia Hemophilia Chapter in the 1990’s and the Sociology Club at West Liberty University in 2000 and 2001. He has also volunteered with many organizations and communities including Hemophilia, HIV/AIDS, LGBTQ+, and Special Olympics, in various advocacy roles.
Currently, Dan volunteers with the GSA as the Community Service Officer, West Virginia Hemophilia Chapter as an advocate, LGBTQ+ ally and speaker, NCSA Student Representative, TTSRC, and No to Racism at WVU. He also serves on the Community Advisory Board for the WV Positive Health Clinic and works as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for the Sociology Department. His interests center in Community Health, specifically in rare genetic disorders and how they affect rural communities
He became a member of the Think Tank for Social Research on Cannabis (TTSRC) when he saw the effects of pain, nausea, wasting, and overall discomfort and suffering people are facing. He wants to address the inequity he saw in cannabis laws, research, legislation, and use. Since he is active in the HIV/AIDS community and working with people with disabilities, he has come to see the need for medicinal use of cannabis. He also understands the need for comprehensive legalization efforts for cannabis to address long standing injustices in America.
Dan is a person with severe hemophilia and has lived with HIV for 38 years. In 2012 he was diagnosed with Stage 3C colorectal cancer and beat it. He also loves geography, demographics, reading, travel, and animals.
His current research is on pediatric hemophilia and length of stay in rural vs urban hospitals as well as the stigma of HIV in the hemophilia community.
Taylor Remsburg
Taylor is a second-year graduate student pursuing her Master's degree in Sociology at West Virginia University, with plans to continue the program and pursue a doctorate in Sociology. She has Bachelor's degrees in Criminal Justice and Sociology with minors in Political Science and African Studies. Her undergraduate education radicalized her desire for social justice and equality for all, impacting her interest in the racial disparities prevalent in arrests and sentencing for cannabis possession and use. Taylor hopes to become more engaged in sociological discourse and anti-racist action regarding these disparities through her involvement with the TTSRC. Taylor is currently a graduate research assistant for the Survey Research Center in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. The Survey Research Center recently launched the West Virginia Social Survey (WVSS). The WVSS asks respondents to describe their personal marijuana use as well as immediate and extended family use. It is Taylor's hope that marijuana use will become a more widely studied and normalized phenomenon. Taylor hopes to see the decriminalization, followed by federal legalization, of cannabis.
Candace Smith
Candace is a junior at West Virginia University, majoring in both Sociology and Philosophy, with plans to attend law school after graduating. Candace aspires to promote and ensure justice whenever and wherever she can. Coming from a small town in Lincoln County, West Virginia, Candace has seen the many devastating effects of the opioid epidemic. For this reason, she hopes to provide education and information regarding cannabis as an alternative to opioids; to help those who are recovering from opioid addiction; and to remove the various obstacles and stigma that many cannabis users face today. Currently, Candace is an undergraduate researcher with WVU’s Honors EXCEL program and her project will focus on how the War on Drugs, despite what its name suggests, has exacerbated opioid usage in Appalachia. Cannabis has long been used by government officials to perpetuate racist ideas and stereotypes, implement discriminatory policies, and restrict the freedom of the people. Candace hopes that federal legalization will happen soon, allowing for more research to be done, justice to be served, and freedom to be reinstated.
Annette Mackay, MA
Annette Mackay is a 5th year doctoral student in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at WVU and a member of TTSRC. Annette is interested in neighborhoods, groups, and factors that affect how people live, work, and relate to each other. She is sensitive to social forces that produce inequality but also recognizes that changing times also bring people together in creative ways. Her research with TTSRC looks at cannabis in the community with respect to other social factors, like gentrification and community development. In addition to providing academic knowledge about cannabis in the community, Annette’s work has interest to the public. She is committed to sharing her data and explaining her methods to one and all. Annette’s goal is to present sociology in a fun and informative way to spark intrigue into the workings of society.
Kathryn Burnham, MA
Katie is a 5th year doctoral student of sociology at West Virginia University and a founding member of the TTSRC. She has a strong orientation towards social justice and focuses her current research on racial inequality in the legal cannabis market. Having experienced trauma in a variety of ways, she has a strong call to use her work and career to better the lives of people. Katie believes it is crucial that sociology and criminology are applied and public focused, as sociology and criminology are inherently about people and the environments, institutions, and structures that people create and maintain. This view of sociology drives her passion towards public sociology, applied research, such as evaluation, and social justice. Katie hopes that the TTSRC will be able to make the constantly changing information about and status of cannabis in the US readily available and understandable for all. To learn more about Katie, click here.
Erin Hudnall, MA
Erin is a fifth-year doctoral student of sociology at West Virginia University. As a native Appalachian, she sees the potential for cannabis to provide positive solutions for the region, such as in economic development and in providing therapeutic alternatives for Appalachia’s aging population and for Appalachians impacted by mental and physical health conditions. As a public sociologist, she is committed to cultivating deeper relationships between scientists and the public by contributing to public knowledge about cannabis through applied research. To learn more about Erin, click here.
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Cassidy Wetz
Cassidy is a Sophomore at West Virginia University studying sociology and legal studies, with plans to attend law school. There she will study environmental law. Cassidy feels that cannabis has been misrepresented by the law in an attempt to hurt certain minority groups, rather than uphold justice and enrich the common good of the American people: "An unjust law is no law at all, and I feel it is unjust to keep from the American people a natural resource that can not only help so many who suffer from a variety of ailments but also serve to be an economic asset to struggling areas such as my home state of West Virginia."
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